The Community Health Worker Workforce in Minnesota
In 2024, MDH staff conducted outreach to over 100 contacts in a variety of public health settings to learn about how and where community health workers are working in Minnesota.
CHW workforce infrastructure
Minnesota has a robust infrastructure in place to support the CHW profession, including:
- Statewide scope of practice
- Academic CHW Certificate training program and upskilling trainings
- Medical billing and reimbursement
- MN CHW Alliance, a non-profit who builds community and systems capacity for better health through integration of CHW strategies.
- Collaboration between state agencies, CHWs, CHW employer organizations, and MN CHW Alliance.
Education and employment
- 6 higher education programs offer the CHW certificate program in Minnesota.
- 1,371 CHWs have earned a certificate from a higher education program in the last 20 years.
- Of those, 64% are from Greater Minnesota.
- An estimated 880 CHWs currently work in the state.
- 209 CHWs are enrolled with Minnesota Department of Human Services to bill for services.
Settings and reach
CHW services are provided in 11 settings including community organizations, health departments, managed care plans, mental health centers, long-term care facilities, and health systems.
CHW services are provided in a variety of settings in 47 out of 87 counties in Minnesota (54%).
- Areas of the state that have less activity include southwestern and western Minnesota.
- In larger populations, there is more of a presence of CHW services through health care organizations, community-based organizations, and non-profits.
- All seven counties in the Twin Cities metro area have a CHW presence through local public health, health care organizations, or community-based organizations.
Roles and functions
- The roles of CHWs align with the Minnesota CHW Scope of Practice as well as the CHW Roles, Skills and Competencies outlined by the National Council on the CHW Core Consensus Standards.
- Services provided are health and human system navigation, peer support, addressing social determinants of health, community resource warm handoff (including paperwork support), and health education.
- Implementation models vary across settings, but all hold to the scope of practice.
"I do it all—car seats, DHS paperwork, and next thing I know I am looking at a furnace.”
- CHW in rural southern Minnesota
Financing and sustainability
- CHW programs and services in Minnesota are supported through a variety of funding mechanisms including medical billing and reimbursement, grants, and operational funding. Many organizations use multiple sources of funding to finance community health worker positions.
- Minnesota's Medicaid program, Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP), has covered CHW education services since 2009. As of 2024, MHCP covers Health Related Social Need related services defined by Medicare and performed by CHWs.
- For an overview of Medicaid and Medicare billing and reimbursement for CHWs, read: Community Health Worker Services Reimbursement (PDF)
- For the most current information and billing guidelines for MHCP, visit the Community Health Worker (CHW) section of the Minnesota Department of Human Services MHCP Provider Manual.
Organizational readiness and employer resources
- For more information and resources on organizational readiness for employing CHWs and implementing CHW services: